Even though Irish dancing is to have been created for a sense of nationalism, it is said to have roots in the Druids who lived in Ireland and the Celts' folk dancing. Ireland is a land that is connected to its past and this is one way to honor and celebrate the past.
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Irish dancing is a performance. According to Sims and Stephens in Living Folklore: An Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions, state that a performance is "Performance is an expressive activity that requires participation, heightens our enjoyment of an experience, and invites response." (Sims and Stephens 2011, 131) Irish dancing performances and competitions would fall into those categories. They also stated that, "in order for a performance to happen, a recognized setting must exist (participants have to know a performance is taking place) and participants (performers and audience) must be present.)" (Sims and Stephens 2011, 131). The setting is the competition or performance, the participants are the performers and the audience.
Riverdance
Photo Credit : https://www.chicagolandmusicaltheatre.com/anniversary-tour-of-riverdance-celebrates-25-years-of-experiences/
Riverdance first debuted during Eurovision in 1994 and became extremely popular. It has toured all over the world with three different troops for the different tours. The shows tell a story, the story of Ireland, from the legends of Ireland through to emigrating to the New World. It is different from traditional Irish Dance since it adds more modern music and dances from around the world, like Russian folk ballet, tap dance and others. It also has the additional of an Irish choir that sings in the background. They also have added live instruments. The posture of the dancers in Riverdance is less rigid than competitive Irish Dance. They also are known for the chorus line dancing, all the dances lined up in one line across the stage. They just celebrated their anniversary of 25 years since their first toured performance.
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Here are a few links to some of their performances:
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